It was a powerful rendition of her new single set in a misty forest.

Selena Gomez just gave one of the most powerful performances of her career as she took the stage for the first time in over a year at the 2017 American Music Awards.

The performance began with a car in a misty "forest" as wolves howled in the background. From somewhere in all that fog, Selena belted the opening lyrics of her new single, "Wolves." In your eyes, there's a heavy blue / One to love and one to lose / Sweet divide, a heavy truth / Water or wine, don't make me choose." As the mist dissipated, Selena was revealed to be lying in front of the car in a white negligee, wet-look hair (newly blonde, not to mention), and a cross necklace with her knees painted to look as if she'd scraped her knees.

She was joined by dancers in white lace nightgowns while her collaborator, producer Marshmello, and a backing band accompanied her in the shadows. The pop star's dancers pushed and pulled on the her as they danced around her, at one point pulling her up in a choreographed crowd-surf.

After Selena concluded the song with a goosebump-inducing delivery of the last lines, "I've been running through the jungle / I've been crying with the wolves / To get to you, to get to you," she received a well-deserved standing ovation.

The performance is especially important to Selena, as it's her first in over a year. While Selena hasn't confirmed or denied it, many fans have speculated that "Wolves" is about her struggle with lupus. Over the summer, Selena had a kidney transplant to help treat her condition. Her new kidney was donated by her BFF Francia Raisa, whom she credits with saving her life. "My kidneys were just done. That was it," Selena said in an emotional interview. "And I didn't want to ask a single person in my life, and that was the day I came home when I found out. And she volunteered and did it."

Francia has also spoken out about the operation. "I am beyond grateful that God would trust me with something that not only saved a life, but changed mine in the process," she wrote in a post on Instagram.

On Thursday, Selena uploaded a video of her rehearsing for this monumental performance. In the caption, she wrote, "the AMAs have been a place where I’ve shared some of my most intimate moments," and over the years, they have been incredibly emotional experiences for Selena and her fans. In 2014, she broke down during a stirring performance of "The Heart Wants What It Wants" that left everyone else, including Taylor Swift, in tears. Then, in 2016, Selena won Best Female Artist after taking some time off for her health, giving a very inspirational speech when she accepted her reward.

"In 2014 this stage was actually the first time that I was authentically, 100 percent honest with all of you," she said. "I think it’s safe to say that all of you know my life whether I like it or not. I had to stop because I had everything and I was absolutely broken inside. I kept it all together enough to where I would never let you down but I kept it too much together to where I let myself down. "

Before she left the stage, she said the words that will go down as some of the most touching in AMAs history. "If you are broken you do not have to stay broken," she said. "If that’s anything, whether you respect me or not, that’s one thing you should know about me."